Chloe Gets Jack

by siofrafire

This is a continuation of Jack and Chloe's story. Saying goodbye and leaving Jack to live out whatever days he had left in a Russian prison wasn't an option Chloe could live with. Chloe lost her son, and it almost killed her, she couldn't lose Jack too. Warning this story contains mature themes. Please leave a review good or bad if you took the time to read this story.

"Jack... Jack!" Chloe woke up from the sound of her own voice calling out to Jack. The room was pitch-black and she was disoriented. It took her a few moments to remember where she was. Chloe calmed herself, forcing slow steady breaths until her breathing returned to normal. She wiped the perspiration from her forehead and swung her legs over to the side of the bed. She clumsily reached for the lamp as her fingers searched for the switch to turn on the light. She had been staying at the hotel Las Cayes for almost a week now and this was the first night she was able to sleep long enough to even have a dream. Although, she wouldn't necessarily call it a dream, it felt more like a nightmare realizing that Jack was still gone.

Consecutive hours of sleep had eluded her for weeks now; she was bone-weary tired and exhausted. It had been almost three months since Jack had given himself over to the Russians in order to secure her freedom and Chloe knew Jack was running out of time.

After the fiasco in London it took weeks for Chloe to be released from debriefing on the events surrounding the retrieval of the Yate's Device. She was interviewed, although it felt more like being interrogated by representatives of the British, Chinese and American governments. Eventually she was granted full immunity for her part in leaking highly sensitive government documents while working for Free Cell in exchange for recovering all of Adrian's intel and decrypting the programs he used to breech multiple government defense firewalls, but mainly her immunity was granted because of her help to Jack in recovering the Yate's Device and also for agreeing to decrypt Derrick Yate's programs some in which he used to engineer the device that was now classified as a dangerous weapon of mass destruction.

James Heller in one of his last acts of his Presidency grated full pardons for both Jack and Chloe for all past crimes, not just because of the recovery of the Yate's Device, but also for what they had done in the past to secure the safety of the American people and their government. Many politicians were not happy with President Heller's decision, but James knew full well he would never have to face any political fallout due to his soon to be resignation. His Alzheimer's disease was progressing quickly and it would soon eventually rob him of every memory, but he knew in his heart that both Jack and Chloe were American heroes and deserved this last act of kindness. President Heller assumed that Jack was already dead, but even if he wasn't Jack would spend the rest of his days in a Russian prison. James Heller was saddened by that reality especially after all that Jack had sacrificed for his country, but at the very least with the pardon Jack's name would be cleared and his family could take some solace and comfort in that.

Chloe knew she would never be able to piece any part of her life back together as long as Jack was suffering in a Russian prison and it wasn't just any prison he was forced to serve in, it was the most dangerous and notorious prison in all of Russia. Jack was in the infamous Black Dolphin where 700 of the most serious criminals in Russia were housed. They had a long list of murderers, child molesters, terrorist, serial killers, even some Cannibals, and so –called maniacs.

Jack was all Chloe had left in this world and she couldn't leave him there to rot. She had learned many things while working for Adrian and with Open Cell. She had years of access to the under-ground world and now her connections would soon pay off or so she hoped.

Even while Chloe was still being debriefed by the government for her role in the hacker syndicate Open Cell she was forging a plan to save Jack.

For years while working at CTU Chloe had helped Jack coordinate missions, both on and off book. Risky missions that involved securing high valued assets and rendering inoperable high valued targets among a myriad of other things. Often times missions labeled impossible somehow with Jack in the field and her helping at coms the missions were successful. Without Jack she didn't know if her mission ever could be, but she knew she had to try.

Chloe also knew that trying to extract Jack from a Russian prison would be beyond dangerous, but the only thing she had left to lose besides Jack was her own life. After losing Prescott, her sweet baby boy, Morris, and her career, if she lost Jack too then she didn't care if she lived or died. There was nothing left of her former life but haunting memories of people and things she could never go back to, so Chloe knew she was all in.

Chloe couldn't live with the guilt of what working with Adrian had done; the role it played in forcing Jack to come out of hiding yet again for her life was more than she could bear. If it wasn't for her mistakes Jack would still be safe.

Years ago the Chinese had tortured Jack for over twenty months; she had seen what it had done to him both physically and emotionally. Living with the knowledge that Jack was again at the mercy of likeminded evil was the only thing that kept her from giving up on her own life. Something she had often contemplated after her Prescott was killed. She knew that she was Jack's only chance of ever getting out of Black Dolphin alive and she would make it happen or die trying.

Chloe was going to need tons of black coffee and a hot, hot shower if she was ever going to be any use in accomplishing her objectives for the day. She forced herself off of the bed and walked across the room to put the coffee pot on. While she waited for the black gold to brew she turned the water on in the shower, and when the coffee was ready Chloe poured a steaming cup of wake up juice and finished it quickly. She poured herself a second cup to drink in the shower she was beyond tired and needed the kick start. The bathroom was full of steam; when she looked in the foggy mirror she barely recognized her reflection. So much loss had taken its toll; she thought her wrinkles were deeper than they should have been for a woman her age. It didn't help that she barely slept or ate properly anymore. She rubbed her hand across the fogging mirror to get one last glimpse of the stranger staring back at her. Chloe stepped into the shower and let the hot water penetrate her sore and achy muscles as she drank the remainder of her coffee.

Chloe's mind wandered as the hot water spilled off of her back. What was it about Jack that had often pulled her into his world time and time again? She had followed him on his roads of the ends justifying the means so many times, too many times to count. It had put a wedge between every relationship she had both personally and professionally. Her defiance in obeying superiors in order to help Jack had stopped her from moving up the ladder of success in her career at CTU. Even now, she wondered why her allegiance and belief in Jack had been so strong well before she even truly knew his full character. She had asked herself that question a million other times and never seem to come up with a clear answer. Maybe it was her fate, her destiny to help Jack save the lives of so many people. Maybe if she was being completely honest about it for the first time in her life regarding Jack, maybe it was just as simple as she loved him, maybe even ever since the first time she saw him… She could never admit that to herself before. She was always too logical, mathematical in her approach to life. Where did that scenario fit in to the way she viewed the world? The short answer is it didn't.

As far back as Chloe could remember she often rubbed people the wrong way even as a small child she could remember adults thinking she was too precocious. She was always too direct, too sarcastic, too smart, and too quick witted for most people's liking. She never seemed to fit in anywhere. People always treated her a little differently because of it. Many times they underestimated her or worse didn't take her seriously at all because of her awkwardness, but the two people in her life that never did that was Morris and Jack. They always believed in her capabilities when others didn't.

Chloe never cared about social politics and she would rather people leave her alone than have to pretend to like someone that annoyed her. High school was no different and would have been a more hideous existence if she didn't always find a way to get back at the bullies in school. Chloe was grateful for the back bone her extremely difficult childhood forged in her. It had served her well many times throughout her entire life.

Going to high school and being surrounded by a group of people who would never be her intellectual equal or even the least bit interesting to her in any way shape or form had always seemed like such a big waste of her time. The one bright spot was finding ways to humiliate the boorish bullies on behalf of the weak and defeated.

Once she hacked into the school's computer system and had it reflect that Scott Johnson had ditched twenty-eight days of school, even though he didn't. When his mother received the phone call about his truancies she was so upset that she showed up at the school, pulled Scott out of class by his ear and continued to wail on him in front of the school building, yelling at him loud enough to alert most of the school as to what was happening, prompting everyone to run from their seat to watch the beat down from their classroom windows.

Chloe didn't feel the least bit bad about either because she had witnessed Scott beating up people much smaller and much weaker than him time and time again. She was happy to dole out a little justice to the creep.

Maybe that was one of the things that drew her to Jack, he believed in justice too. Chloe's life both personally and professionally had never been the same since she met Jack. So many times she had his back and supported him even going so far as to disobeying direct orders from her superiors often time to her own peril. She had put her professional life in jeopardy every time she agreed to help Jack when he demanded going dark or off book. They both through the years had gone through so many crises, so many losses, and so many last minute victories, maybe that's why she continued to sacrifice so much for Jack, because of their friendship. They were friends weren't they? How else could she describe their relationship? She asked herself. She knew so many intimate and personal details about Jack and yet was friend even the right word to describe what they were to each other? They had never gone to dinner together, they never caught a movie or a play together, they never even so much as grabbed a quick bite to eat for lunch together. Had she ever seen Jack laugh? She couldn't tell you how he liked to spend his down time. However, Jack years ago, had come out of hiding to save her life putting his own life in danger to make sure she was safe, just as he had recently done again and she knew he had never even thought twice about it.

Chloe may not be able to tell you what his favorite meal was, but she knew other things about Jack. She knew how may tours of duty he had done, the women he had loved and lost, his favorite choice of weapons, his strength of determination, the depths of his loyalty. She knew in detail every scar he had on his body and how he had acquired them, not because he had ever shared with her how he got them, but because she was the one that logged his personnel files for CTU. Chloe knew by observation that on several occasions jack was embarrassed anytime someone that didn't know what happened to him caught a glimpse of them. She knew Jack loved deeply, fought valiantly, and would sacrifice life and limb to save or help his friends, his family, and his country. Even after his country and the people in it had betrayed him and used him time and time again. He would still lay down his life for them because he was a patriot. She knew Jack loved his daughter profoundly even when it had to be from a distance because Kim blamed him for her mother's death and for having to fake his own death for his friends and family. He never faulted her and completely understood why she felt the way she did. Chloe knew that Jack had been tortured in every since of the word, but Chloe also knew that Kim's disappointment in Jack had cut him and hurt him the deepest. She was glad Kim had in time allowed Jack back into her life.

Before Jack was whisked away in a helicopter by the Russians he squeezed Chloe's hand and told her she was his best friend, and told her to look in on his family. Chloe knew Jack loved her even if he had never been in love with her, she didn't care if he never could love her same way she loved him, she just wanted him back and she would do whatever it took to make it happen.

When abruptly the water turned cold in the shower it brought Chloe back to reality and it was crucial to get started on the day. She didn't have any more time to waste if he was still alive she was going to get him back. Every minute counted, and she wasn't going to waste anymore time thinking about anything other than the mission.

Jack had no idea what day or time it was, he was in a very small concrete room. It had no windows, and toilet. There was no bed just a thin bed mat on the floor. He knew his time there hadn't been anywhere near the amount of time he had spent in a Chinese prison, but he was older now, and for all intents and purposes much more broken of a man, he had way less fight in him than when he had been taken to China, it already felt like an eternity had passed there. He had lost Kim again and what made it worse this time is that he would never see his beautiful granddaughter again or even get to meet his second grandchild. He wasn't fighting to get back to Audrey, there was no government worried about him anymore, anyone who owed Jack any favors were long gone or no longer had any political power. His leg was in constant pain from being broken. He knew it hadn't been set properly and the healing would only leave him with a severe painful limp. He no longer registered the pain in his face because of how much his leg had bothered him. If he had access to any sheets or blankets and something to hang himself from he would have done it long ago. He was more than ready for his life to be over. Time left nothing but reflection and too many memories, too many ghost made it mentally unbearable.

Jack knew many people thought he was a monster because of the things he had done especially after Renee's death, but his one ray of light was knowing that Chloe didn't think so. Jack knew she didn't see him that way at all or she never would have agreed to help him in recovering Yate's Device. Ever since he had met Chloe at CTU she had always found a way to have his back. He never would have imagined that the strange, awkward, young girl he met so many years ago would be the only consistent thread he had in his life, one that never unraveled regardless of what was thrown at him.

Motherhood had changed Chloe for the better he thought, it had mellowed her harsh edges making her more approachable to the people she worked with, not that he had ever minded her personality he just thought she was quirky. It saddened him to see what the death of Prescott had done to her. He knew Chloe deserved much better than such a terrible reality in this life, and it was just another one of his regrets that he wasn't able to be there for her when she lost her son, and that he didn't even know about it until just a few months ago.

Chloe was one of the most intelligent women he had ever met and he admired her loyalty. It was something he had learned to depend on. It wasn't easy for him to trust people, he found out firsthand the hard way the very depths of betrayal in people's hearts. He wished now he never would have questioned Chloe's loyalty while recovering the Yate's Device. She said she understood why he would have doubts about her, but he knew he had deeply hurt her after years of being there for him any time he ever asked. Just more regret in a long list of the sea of regrets he constantly was drowning in.

Jack had put Chloe in so many precarious situations; he hoped she had forgiven him as she had done so many times before. Chloe's face was the last one of love and friendship that he would ever see before he died in this miserable prison, and he etched her face deeply in his mind's eye. He wished now that he had invested more time into her as a person and not just seen her as a loyal, valuable colleague who was also considered a friend, but never took the time to really get to know her. The cold truth was hard for him to face, he had hardly pictured her more than a voice always guiding him and directing him on the other side of coms, but she had a whole life that he didn't know anything about, and one that shamelessly he never asked her about. Why didn't he know anything about her divorce to Morris or why she remarried him years later? Jack was familiar with the strange places the mind would wander to when there was so much idle time to pass. The guilt he had coursing through his veins was thick and cumbersome. He never apologized to Chloe even though he knew it was his fault for ruining her career at CTU. Chloe would have gone far; in fact he knew she would have gone all the way to the top if it wasn't for him. Chloe knew so many things about him, so many of his faults; she had been one of the first to know about his heroin addiction he acquired when he had to penetrate the drug cartel. She knew about the affair he had with the drug lord's wife, she knew about him being with Nina when he was separated from Terri. Chloe knew about all the reasons people who were close to him ended up hurt or dead. The same reason Chloe was kidnapped by the Russians. Yet she never seemed to judge him for any of it. Jack rationalized to himself the reason he never personally invested in getting to know Chloe more, was that if he didn't get too close to her no one would have a reason to hurt her, or come after her, but in the end they found a way to use her against him anyway.

Jack tried to sleep, it was the only reprieve he had from his hell on earth. Chloe had jeans and a black World of Warcraft shirt on. Her hair was long and strawberry blond again. Jack wondered why she was walking through the door with her arms full of wood. She dropped the wood by his side. "Fire wood for the fire." Jack looked down at the fireplace, why hadn't he noticed it there before? Chloe walked to the fridge and grabbed two beers and opened both of them by hitting the cap on the side of the counter top. Tom Petty was playing softly in the background. Chloe brought him the dark amber beer. Nothing made any sense to Jack. "Are you going to start the fire or what?" Jack knelt down by the fireplace to start the fire; he had a lighter in his hand. He wondered where it had come from. Jack got the fire going and was sipping on his beer being warmed by the heat of the flames. "Do you want parm on your spaghetti?" Jack was just about to answer Chloe when he turned over in his sleep and the pain from his leg woke him up. It was a dream, usually he had nothing but nightmares in his sleep, but this was an amazing dream he was having. It was nice visiting with Chloe and sitting by the fire, it was always so damn cold in his miserable cell. He wanted desperately to go back to sleep so he could continue such a pleasant dream, but it was too late the pain was overwhelming again and he wouldn't be able to sleep until his eyes closed from pure exhaustion.

Chloe was almost done, just a few more days of cycling through Adrian's program and she would have enough money for the mission. Thousands upon thousands of people would soon have their bank accounts hit. Chloe didn't feel good about it, but she took some small comfort in knowing no one would have more than five dollars removed from their account. The money would then be funneled into accounts that would then be funneled into other accounts making it extremely difficult to find out who was behind the hits. Chloe knew eventually it would catch up to her, but the maze of firewalls would keep them busy for quite some time.

Chloe would soon be able to gather her team and make the necessary provisions to complete the next step in preparing for Jack's rescue. The team she hired would not come cheap my any stretch of the imagination. They were all elite ex-military Special Forces. These operatives were well versed in personal combat and covert operations, they were trained, and equipped to use unconventional tactics, and techniques to deploy whatever skills were necessary to get the job done. Each now used their specialized talents to be bought for various reasons, usually without conscious or morality as long as enough money was paid for supplying what others couldn't.

Chloe hoped that by this time next week she would be flying back with Jack. From the little intel Chloe was able to see from hacking the Black Dolphin prison records Jack had been severely injured. She was glad she had chose the Dominican Republic for Jack to heal and recover, with the medical team's help and the warm sun along with the beautiful beaches it would be an ideal place to decompress from whatever the Russians had put him through.

The Black Dolphin Prison was located in Sol-llessk Russia in the Orenburg Region near the Southern border of Kazakhstan. Chloe was planning a rescue mission from one of the most brutal prisons in all of Russia, and it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. The prison had over 900 guards and staff for only 700 people. When prisoners arrive to Black Dolphin they are blindfolded, and anytime they are moved from a location they are handcuffed in a bent position so that the prisoners are not be able to gage the layout of the prison. The inmates that were housed at Black Dolphin were also monitored with 24 hour surveillance, and a guard physically checked on each prisoner every 15 minutes, so unless Chloe was willing to gas the entire prison facility she would have to find a different way to get Jack out. Going in hot with that many guards would never be anything but a suicide mission. Chloe would have to find a different strategy to make this happen.

After much deliberation, research, and running different scenarios through a specialized computer program she realized there was only one way to extricate Jack.

Denis Ivanov was the Warden at Black Dolphin. His wife died of cancer two years prior and his daughter Yelena was his whole life, she was only 13 years old. Chloe wasn't happy with what needed to be done, but kidnapping Yelena was the only way she was certain she could force the warden's hand into moving Jack for transport. Chloe didn't want the warden to be punished for making him help them so she already planned to provide him with forged documentation requesting the official transfer of Jack Bauer so that when all was said and done it would look like the warden was acting on good faith following the orders of the powers that be. Chloe didn't want to ruin Yelena's life by taking away the only parent she had left, but she wouldn't tell Ivanov all of her plans until Jack was safe. Chloe didn't want Denis Ivanov to perceive her kindness as weakness thus thinking she wouldn't harm his daughter and jeopardizing their chances of a successful rescue. Chloe had no choice but to make Ivanov believe she would do whatever it took to make him comply including hurting or even killing his daughter if he didn't agree.

Chloe knew one of the reasons that Jack was so successful where other people would fail was because he was always willing to do whatever it took and go as far as he had to in order to get the job done. Chloe questioned her resolve on what she was willing to do, how far was she willing to go with Yelena? She hoped Ivanov would be easily motivated by his daughter's safety, but if he wasn't could Chloe order the harm of a child? She already knew she wasn't willing to kill her, but would she let a child be slapped around? Would she let a leg be shot? How could she contemplate doing such a thing? Thinking about Jack spending the rest of his life in that hell hole made Chloe keenly aware of just how far she would go and yes, she was willing to use Yelena to do it. Chloe knew that Jack would be absolutely furious with the idea of using an innocent to save his life. Often times Jack had collateral damage on his missions but always to save the many not just one life especially if that one life was his.… Jack may never forgive her for being such a monster, but she decided she could live with that as long as he was out of Black Dolphin.

Chloe began setting the perimeters of the mission outlining each objective step by step. She had already requisitioned a Cessna Citation Longitude from a CIA storage facility; the facility was used to house evidence and assets seized from CIA busts from all over the world. The particular jet she requisitioned could easily hold up to 12 people and two pilots. Once Chloe was done hacking into the CIA holding facility she arranged for pick up and clearance for her pilots to land in the Dominican Republic where her base of operations was now located.

Making the necessary arrangements for the final extraction would be difficult. Chloe had to hack into the Russian government's correctional records to precisely execute legitimate looking "transfer" documentation for Jack ordering his move from Black Dolphin to the Butyrka Prison in Moscow, Central District; this was the paperwork that would hopefully keep Yelena and her father Ivonov together if Jack's rescue was successful.

Chloe then arranged for their jet to land in Kazakhstan through proper authorities and flight channels; she used her medical team's credentials and the organization Doctors without Borders to falsify the proper documentation they would need for their landing. Having the medical team accompany them would give them a legitimate reason to get through the border check point. Her operatives would have justification to be with them hired as private security providing safety for the medical team to and from their locations. Finally, providing transportation for them when they arrived would be the last hurdle Chloe needed to get over on this end of the computer in order to make the mission a go.

Chloe knew as did every member of the team that if anything went wrong and they were caught there would be no rescue for them. The risk was huge, but then again that's why Chloe hired them. Money was what they were in this for and she knew they had just as much reason to want a successful mission as she did.

Chloe had worked on all the details over and over again until she was confident that not one thing more could be added or changed to make the mission as safe as possible. They would leave in two days to extract Jack from Black Dolphin.

Once they were in the air it would take approximately 14 and ½ hours to get to their destination. When they arrived they would quickly cross the border that just a few miles away from their landing site. Four men would stay behind to guard the plane for their egress. Once they arrived in Sol-lessk they would wait for Denis Ivonov to arrive at Black Dolphin. He worked from noon until eight in the evening. Once they had the cover of darkness they would move in and take Yelena. The men would drug her just long enough to keep her quite until reaching an abandon building not far from her home that Chloe had previously scouted from a single hire that went to Russia before them.

That evening when Ivonov arrived to his home like always he called out to his daughter, but this time she did not answer. He called her again, "Yelena, I'm home angel." Again there was no answer and when he walked into the kitchen he was greeted by Chloe O'Brian. "Hello Mr. Ivonov."

"Who are you?" he asked loudly. "Where is my daughter Yelena?"

"Mr. Ivonov you will remain calm and you will quiet your voice if you ever want to see your daughter, alive again. Do you understand me? Mr. Ivonov, tell me that you understand me!" He shook his head yes. "Good, now we can move on."

"Please, who are you? What do you want? What have you done with Yelena? Please, tell me where she is?"

"Sit down Mr. Ivanov."

"No! I won't sit down."

Chloe held her silencer in clear view now. "Mr. Ivonov you will sit down, you will lower your voice, and I will tell you everything you need to know."

"Please, please let me see my daughter."

I can arrange that for you." Chloe moved the screen of her lap top around so Ivonov could see his daughter clearly and that she was bound and gagged and sitting in a chair between two men. "Oh Dear God, why are you doing this? What do you want from me?"

"I will answer all of your questions and I will explain exactly what I want from you, and if you ever want to see your daughter alive again you will listen very carefully, you will do exactly what I tell you to do. If you do this, I promise you Mr. Ivonov, then and only then will Yelena be back safe in your arms by tomorrow evening."

"Please, Please don't hurt her, I will do as you say."

"Of course you will, because you love your daughter and because if you don't do exactly as I say the next time you see her will be in a body bag." Chloe hated herself for having to be so cruel. "Tomorrow when you return to work you will act as if nothing is wrong, and you will execute the necessary procedures to transfer the custody of Jack Bauer from your prison safely to my men.

"No, I cannot do this, this is impossibility."

"Oh I don't think so Mr. Ivonov. Your daughter is a very pretty girl. You know what sex trafficking is, yes?"

"Oh God no! Please no! I'll do what you ask!"

"I know you will because I promise you if anything goes wrong tomorrow first I will give Yelena over to the two men that are holding her now, and then I will give her to anyone that will pay good money to have such a pretty young girl for whatever pleasure they want." Mr. Ivonov had tears coming down his face and Chloe felt sick to her stomach she thought she might even throw up any second. She knew this moment was coming for days now, and she had tried to mentally prepare herself for how horrible it was going to be, but it was even worse than she expected. Chloe had thought very long and hard about this situation long before she had ever stepped one foot into Russia. She felt this particular threat was the only way she would not have to demonstrate to Ivonov that she was willing to hurt Yelena to get what she wanted. At least this way Yelena would not be harmed or even hear what was being talked about. Chloe knew how much Ivonov cared for his daughter and he would never put her in jeopardy of ever having to live thru such an ordeal. Chloe knew he would do whatever it took to keep his daughter from being raped.

"Mr. Ivonov I know it is going to be a very long night for you, but if you do anything to alert a neighbor or the authorities I promise you it will be an even longer night for Yelena with my men, but I give you my word that Yelena will be safe in your home very soon as long as you cooperate and produce Jack Bauer tomorrow. Are we clear?"

"Yes, we are clear. Can I please talk to my daughter?"

"I will call her so that you can reassure her she will be safe, but I warn you do not try to get any information about where she is staying or I will take my men off of their leashes."

"I understand." Chloe placed the call and one of the men undid Yelena's gag and he held the phone up to her ear.

"Yelena? Yelena, are you okay angel?"

"Yelena's voice was cracking and she was trying to push past the tears so she could talk. "Yes, Papa, I'm okay."

"Did they hurt you angel?"

"No, Papa. Please Papa come get me I'm so scared." Yelena was fully crying now.

"I know angel, but it's going to be okay, this will all be over very soon. Yelena, these people are making me do something for them, but as soon as I am done you will be home safe."

"Papa, I want to come home now."

"I know, try and be brave little angel and we will be together again very soon. I love you."

"I love you too Papa!" Mr. Ivonov watched the live feed as the phone was disconnected and the gag was put back on his daughter's tear stained face.

"You people are monsters."

"Yes, we are Mr. Ivonov so please don't forget that." Chloe was disgusted and imagined what she would be going through if someone had done to her precious son Prescott what she had just done to Yelena and her father, and she knew she would have to live with the disgusting stain of it on her soul for the rest of her life.

The next day Jack was being moved from his cell. He could barely hobble due to his leg and he wondered what form of punishment they would use on him today. He wished they would just kill him, but he knew they wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a quick death after what he had done to the Russians in their own embassy after Renee had been murdered. He was blindfolded and handcuffed, bent over at the waist as was custom for all prisoners here any time they were being moved. The guards almost had to pick him up due to his injury. He thought they were turning in a different direction than usual. He was taken to a place further than he had ever gone before. He wondered what new hell waited for him behind the door of his new destination. He recognized the voice that was speaking, it was the warden. "Jack you are being transferred."

"Transferred? Where to? Why?"

"These are not things for me to know. You will find out I'm sure whenever you arrive."

Jack knew that being transferred would be the only opportunity he would ever have to escape, but he had little strength left and was seriously stifled by his broken leg; he also had no idea where in Russia he was.

When Chloe's men arrived to pick up Jack they handed the warden the "official" paperwork sanctioning the transfer of Jack Bauer along with a note that read, "When Jack has arrived to his destination safely we will release your daughter unharmed. The paperwork provided to you will help you remain free from being imprisoned yourself for helping letting Jack Bauer leave your prison. They will not be able to fault you for following official orders. However, if you do one thing out of the ordinary today before your shift is over then your daughter will be dead before you can even make it home. Please destroy this note as soon as you have read it or it may jeopardize your case for deniability.

Jack was still blindfolded and still had handcuffs on. As soon as he was lifted into the van and the doors shut behind him one of the men took off his blindfold. Jack's eyes were trying to adjust to the light all the while trying to quickly formulate a plan of escape or at the very least creating a situation in where the guards had to kill him before he arrived to an even worse hell that most assuredly awaited him. Once they exited the prison and were well down the road one of the men reached over and unlocked Jack from his handcuffs and was about to explain to him what they were actually doing there. However, before he could get a word out Jack head butted him and the man fell backwards, he then elbowed the other guard in the ribs. Jack tried desperately to hobble his way to the back of the van doors so he could hopefully jump to his death. The guard that had been head butted grabbed a taser and shocked Jack. "Enough already Jack, settle your ass down!" Jack fell to the floor and when he could finally speak he said, "You're American?"

"Yes, Jack, we are indeed American. If you would've just given us a damn second we could have told you."

"Told me what?"

"Jack we are here to help you, we got you out of Black Dolphin not to take you to some other hole, but to take you home."

"On whose authority? Did President Heller order this rescue?"

"Oh yeah, you had no way of knowing. Mr. Heller is no longer President."

"I don't understand if not him then who?"

"Chloe o'Brian."

"Chloe? Chloe arranged this? How, I don't understand?"

"It wasn't easy, but yeah she's responsible for planning, funding, and executing this mission. She must be a really good friend because this was one expensive operation."

"Where is she now?"

"She's waiting for your safe return at an abandoned building just a few clicks south from here."

"How are we supposed to get out of here, we don't seem to be in any kind of hurry, won't they be looking for us?"

"Your girl Chloe, has it all under control. As soon as you arrive she's going to let the warden's daughter go."

"His daughter?"

"Yeah, he has a 13 year old daughter; it was how Chloe got the warden to cooperate."

"Chloe wouldn't do that; she wouldn't use a child like that."

"Well she could and she did, and that's how we got you out. It's the only reason you still aren't rotting at Black Dolphin. As soon as we meet up with Chloe we'll head out to the plane we have waiting just across the border to take us to the DR."

Chloe was on pin and needles, she desperately wanted Jack in plain view and she wanted to leave before any of the authorities could figure out what had happened to Jack. When Jack arrived Chloe ran to him. For a moment no words could escape her mouth there was only silence. Jack was in far worse shape than she imagined, she wished she could have got to him sooner. She hugged him gently and Jack returned the hug only he held on to Chloe a little longer and a little more tightly. "I'm so sorry Jack it took me so long to get you out." She whispered desperately in his ear. "Chloe you came when you could, I was never expecting that you would come at all. I can hardly believe it, and that you actually were able to make this happen. The men were filling me in a little on the way here; you used the warden's daughter?"

"Yes, I did Jack, and you can be mad all you want, but she wasn't hurt and eventually she will get over it! You can't possibly make me feel worse than I do, but I would do it again a million times over because you're out Jack and that's the only thing that matters right now."

Jack could hear the cracking in Chloe's voice and he knew she was on the brink of tears. "Listen Jack, you can be angry and disappointed with me and my methods later, but we have to go now"

"Chloe, I…"

"Not now Jack, okay just not now." Jack was about to tell her that he was grateful and that she misunderstood. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't upset with her, but it would have to wait.

Chloe let Yelena go; Yelena was about a ten minute walk from her home. Chloe instructed the young girl to say nothing about what happened to anyone or her father would be killed. Chloe also told her to wait for him at home and that he would arrive after work just as he always had.

Denis Ivonov was desperate to get home to his daughter, but he knew that he could not deviate from his normal schedule in any way; he prayed that his daughter was safe just as the woman had promised him. He couldn't call in fear that his conversation would be recorded at the prison. Eventually when it was time for him to go home he rushed as quickly as he could without being obvious to anyone. When Ivonov found that his young daughter Yelena was safe he was grateful Chloe had kept her word and also covered his back in the process. He hated her for what she had done to him and his daughter, but he was grateful that she had covered his tracks in aiding Jack's escape so that he wouldn't be separated from her.

Chloe, Jack and the rest of team made their way to the plane, and as soon as they were airborne Chloe was finally able to breathe. Jack and Chloe were sitting on opposite sides of the plane; Chloe didn't think she could face Jack's disappointment in her while her emotions were all over the place. Jack desperately wanted to set the record straight, but he was a private man and decided to wait until they were alone.

Chloe could see how much pain Jack was in, she instructed the doctor to do what he could for him now to control his pain. When the doctor was done doing a quick look over he gave him some pills to make him more comfortable. Chloe brought Jack some food and water; he humbly thanked them both before they returned to their seats. Jack didn't feel like eating so he closed his eyes and slept the entire flight home.

Jack woke up to the plane descending, once they landed in the Dominican Republic they all drove back to the hotel, Chloe's base of operation. When they arrived Chloe got to work on transferring the remainder of the monies owed to her men. The job was complete, and for now Jack and her were safe, and she was relieved that everything went according to plan.

"Jack the medical team is at the clinic standing by waiting to evaluate you properly. I hired the best of the best for you. Your surgeon, anesthesiologist, and nurse are highly qualified and for the money they are receiving they are willing to keep everything on the down low so hopefully we can keep you off of the Russian radar.

Now that Jack and Chloe were finally alone, Jack could freely speak to her. "Chloe, I don't know how in the hell you pulled this off? It's incredible what you did, I know that a simple thank you isn't nearly enough to convey my gratitude, but it's all I have, so thank you."

Chloe was glad that she didn't hear the accusatory tone she thought she had heard in Jack's voice when he was questioning her earlier about using the warden's daughter. "I'm dying to hear all the details Chloe, but I would love to have shower first, it's been quite a long time since I've had one, and maybe we can put off seeing the medical team until tomorrow? I could really use the rest, if you have a couple of more pain pills that should get me through until tomorrow."

"Of course Jack, I'll let them know. I have everything you need including a razor if you want one. There is a mirror hanging in the shower and all the toiletries you need are on the counter by the sink including shaving cream and clean towels." Chloe walked to the dresser drawers and pulled out some clothes, "I'll put these on the counter for you too." She walked into the bathroom and turned the hot water on for Jack. "It takes a minute for the water to heat up, so I got it started for you."

Jack was still in shock and quite amazed that Chloe pulled of the rescue mission. Every time he saw her he thought maybe he was just dreaming and everything that had happened was just going to be the realization of a cruel nightmare when he woke up from another amazing dream and he would again be forced back into living his horrible reality. If that was the case he hoped he wouldn't wake up until after he had a hot shower. "Thanks Chloe, as always you've thought of everything."

"Sure Jack, no problem." Jack with Chloe's help made his way to the bathroom. When he finally got a chance to look in the mirror he couldn't believe how monstrous his appearance was. His beard was long and straggly, the entire side of his left face was purple and bruised, his eye socket was broken a few weeks prior, but the bruising had remained. His nose was broken, he had missing teeth, and he was much grayer now than he had been just a few months ago. He was thin, and frail looking and he realized then that he looked like a battered old man that had been ran over by a Mack truck. Jack stepped away from the mirror in disbelief and headed for the shower, only then did he realize he was going to need help to get in because of his leg. He needed Chloe to help him get over the tub. He was embarrassed by the condition of his body, he wasn't used to relying on people for anything especially as something as simple as a shower, but he knew the reality was that he had no choice. He wasn't fond of the idea, but if he was going to get the hot shower that he so desperately needed, he would have to swallow his pride. Anything would be better than spending another minute covered in weeks worth of grime and dried blood.

"Chloe, "He called out to her from the bathroom.

"Yeah, Jack?"

"I hate to bother you again, but I need your help into the shower, it's a little difficult because of this leg of mine." Chloe was silent for a just a moment, she was a tad embarrassed about the thought of helping Jack into the shower.

"Chloe, you there?"

"Yeah Jack, I'm here."

Chloe forced herself to walk through the bathroom door as if nudity was an everyday thing. Chloe tried to be casual, she didn't want Jack knowing how completely uncomfortable she sometimes was, as if she never grew up and stayed that ridiculously ill at ease teenager she once was. Chloe tried not to stare at his frail frame, Jack was usually so robust. She had seen the maze of scars and striped patterns on his chest and back before and it never ceased to amaze her how much Jack had lived through, his time in Black Dolphin had added even more.

Jack saw the pain in Chloe's eyes when she tried to hide how the sight of him affected her, she had never made him feel ashamed or embarrassed before, but there was no denying the pity she was feeling for him and he hated the way that felt. He quickly closed the curtain and Chloe told him to call her when he was done and she would be back to help him out.

Chloe sat on the bed and cried while Jack was in the shower. It was her involvement in Free Cell, getting captured by the CIA, and ultimately being taken by the Russians that had put Jack at Black Dolphin. She would never be able to forgive herself for what he had been through these last few months. Chloe didn't hear the water being turned off. Jack called out her name, "Chloe…" He waited a bit and called her name again only a little louder this time. Chloe heard him the second time and looked up at the clock. She couldn't believe it had already been almost 40 minutes since Jack started his shower. She had been lost in her own thoughts. She wiped the tears from her face and quickly went to the bathroom door. "I'm here Jack." She opened the door and handed Jack his towel through the curtain. Jack quickly dried himself off and wrapped himself in it. He pulled back the curtain and leaned into Chloe's body for support to get over the tub. He was in agony, but the steaming hot shower had been worth it. He would have stayed under the water for an eternity if the hot water would have lasted. Chloe in her awkwardness blurted out, "I bet you really needed that!" As soon as the words came out she wished she could dive in a hole somewhere. She didn't mean for it to come out that way at all! Jack kind of chuckled, "Well, yeah, I guess I did." Chloe wanted to further explain herself, sometimes she felt like such a bumbling idiot, but that would have made things even more awkward so she left it alone. She managed to stammer out, "Do you need any help getting dressed?"

"No, I think I got it. I'll have to sit on the bed in the room though, I'm just going to brush my teeth first, well…what I have left of them, and then I'll be out."

"Yeah, okay, no problem." Chloe sneaked away from the bathroom for the second time today.

Jack came out with a small smile on his face. "I guess I was needing that too!"

Chloe awkwardly laughed, "Yeah, I guess so." Jack sat on the bed and finished getting dressed. He was still in excruciating pain, a state of being he had become all too familiar with, despite the pain he felt like a new man. The shave and shower had done him wonders. "I want to talk to you Chloe about how you made all this happen."

"Jack there will be plenty of time to catch up on all the details, but you really should be checked out by the doctor first. What little intel I had on you, I mean I knew you were bad off Jack, but it's worse than I imagined. I'm so sorry Jack." Chloe again had tears in her eyes.

"Chloe, please don't cry, it's not your fault, not any of it."

"Come on Jack, don't!"

"Don't what?" Chloe's voice sounded angry now. "If it wasn't for me, you never would have gone to prison, you never would have been tortured, they would have never have found you Jack if you didn't come out of hiding for me."

"Chloe, we don't know that, but none if this has anything to do with you. They were after me years ago because of what I did, and you had nothing to do with that."

"Jack, please stop. I just can't handle you being nice to be right now…I just can't."

Jack didn't know how to comfort her; he could plainly see how upset she was. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, he knew she had been crying when he came out of the shower, she looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. She came for him when he had no hope of ever leaving his cell; she had his back just like she had countless times before. Her familiarity was comforting to him, and yet he had no way of knowing how to reach her, how to be a comfort to her, how to make her see that he didn't blame her at all because it wasn't her fault. "Listen Chloe we can talk later, we're both tired, let's just get some sleep and pick up where we left off tomorrow."

"You're sure you don't want to see the doctor?"

"Not until tomorrow."

"Yeah, oaky Jack sounds good to me, I'll let them know." Chloe reached into her computer bag and got Jack some more pain pills and handed them to him with a glass of water.

"Still taking care of me Chlo…still taking care of me." About twenty minutes later Jack was sound asleep. As soon as Chloe knew Jack was out she put her music on softly, she could never sleep without it. They both slept for hours that night and continued well into the next day. Mid morning that day Chloe's phone was ringing. Surfing with an Alien was playing quietly in the back ground; Chloe was trying to wake and answer the phone before it woke up Jack, she clumsily searched for the phone until her finger felt the familiar object underneath them. "Hello." Chloe had no idea that is was already 10:00 in the morning until her eyes focused on the bright phone light and she saw what time it was. "Chloe this is Dr. Peterson, is everything okay? We were expecting Jack here at 9:00 this morning."

"Dr. Peterson, I'm so sorry for not calling. Honestly we overslept; I must have forgotten to set my alarm. Please, forgive me. We can be there in about an hour, again Doctor; I apologize for making you wait."

"Thank you Chloe, see you soon."

Jack was awake now, he had no idea what time it was. It was pitch black in the room except for the light on Chloe's phone. "I take it we are late?"

"Yeah, I totally overslept. I'm sorry Jack, I usually don't do that."

"No worries Chloe, we both obviously needed the sleep." Chloe walked over to the blackout curtains to let the light in. The piercing light was blinding to both of them until their eyes could focus, but once they got used to it the view of the beach was amazing. Chloe opened the sliding glass door to let some fresh air in. "Chloe, you don't know how beautiful that sight is to me. I thought I was going to die in that prison. I never thought I would feel an ocean breeze ever again. "Chloe felt the stab of guilt every time the prison was mentioned, but she was glad that Jack could once again feel an ocean breeze. "I'm going to put on a pot of coffee, once we get some breakfast and I get a few cups of coffee in me we can head out to the clinic."

"Sounds like a plan."

Chloe ordered room service and made sure it was something Jack could easily eat with so many missing teeth. They both got dressed and by the time the food arrived Chloe was making a second pot of coffee. "Wow Chloe, you like your java!" She laughed, "Coffee is life, Jack, it's the nectar of the gods."

"There was a great coffee shop just around the corner from CTU, I should have taken you there for coffee when I had the chance, you would've loved it."

"You must be talking about Christy's Crust. They had the most incredible dark roast there, not to mention their fluffier than clouds omelets and Christy's homemade breads are the stuff dreams are made of!" Jack smiled, "Yeah, that's the place alright. You're making my mouth water just talking about it. I can't believe we never went there together, it was one of my favorite places to get a bite to eat."

"Yeah, Jack, that would have been nice to be invited." Chloe said sarcastically and walked past Jack slightly nudging him with an elbow to his side. Jack knew he had that coming. He should have been a better friend he thought so himself. From now on he would be a better friend and make it up to her; of that much he was certain.

When they were ready to go Chloe pulled a wheelchair out of the closet. "Hop in Jack."

"Damn Chloe is there anything you didn't think of?"

"You know me Jack, I'm a planner."

As Chloe and Jack were pulling up to the clinic Chloe assured Jack, "I know it looks really bad on the outside, but I promise there is a sterile room with all the equipment the doctor may need including enough of your blood type for any problems that may arise. I paid for the clinic to allow us to come here so that we could keep you off of the radar. I made it well worth their while and they were happy to accommodate us. "I wasn't worried Chlo."

That was the second time he had called her Chlo, he had never shortened her name in all the years she had known him. She liked the sound of it though, it was comfortable and intimate. She wondered why he was calling her that. Sometimes she could be such a silly school girl. She had a bad habit of over thinking things that meant absolutely nothing to anyone else, she knew she was doing that now and needed to stop.

Chloe waited not so patiently while the doctor further evaluated Jack and took x-rays of his damaged leg. While Jack was being assessed, one of the things Chloe did was find and contact a dental surgeon in Florida. She offered him an obscene amount of money to fly out A.S.A.P. to the D.R. She only wanted the very best qualified for Jack. The dental surgeon would arrive at the DR the next day. She wanted him to coordinate with the doctor as soon as possible so that Jack would only have to be put under anesthesia once and Jack could get permanent post put in for his missing teeth. Chloe also facilitated a meeting between the dentists flying in with the only other dentist in the DR that had the lab capabilities of manufacturing what he would need. He was paid to give the dental surgeon access to whatever materials he required.

When the doctor was done with Jack he called Chloe into the back room. "Basically we need to do this operation right away, I would have liked to wait until Jack was stronger, but it's imperative to do the surgery as soon as possible, I'm confident that Jack will regain full mobility if we act quickly enough. His eye socket was obviously broken, but he is no longer seeing double vision. That's a great indication that it was the swelling that was causing that and not muscle damage. His nail beds are in bad shape, most of them have been completely ripped away, but all we can do now is apply a topical antibiotic and keep a bandage on them. Soak them off when you change them so you don't do any further damage. It's hard to say if all or if any of the nail beds will grow back normally, only time will tell. "Well…deformed hand, with deformed fingers seems like they should go hand in hand." Jack smiled at Chloe.
"Not funny Jack,"

"Come on Chloe that was slightly funny…" She shook her head no and gave Jack a mom look.

The Doctor continued on with the list of medical concerns. "Jack needs to put weight on obviously, all the other contusions, and gashes should heal properly, but some will leave significant scaring. Jack was no stranger to significant scaring and had quit caring about that long ago, at least most of the time he was able to convince himself he didn't care…

Chloe explained to the doctor that the dental surgeon would be coordinating with him and when they got all the details worked out to call her and let her know when Jack needed to come in for his surgery.

They had spent almost four hours at the clinic and Jack was exhausted. Chloe could plainly see she needed to get him back to the hotel so that he could eat and rest. When they got to their room Chloe ordered a late lunch and again made sure it was something that Jack would be able to eat comfortably.

Jack really wanted to talk to Chloe about everything, but he asked if she would please wake him up once the food came because he could barely keep his eyes open and wanted to take a quick nap. Jack lay down and within minutes was asleep on the bed. Chloe sat on the bed across from him just watching Jack sleep. She felt kind of like a creeper, but she couldn't help herself, he was out of the prison, she pulled it off and it was such a relief to know that he was going to be okay. Eventually she leaned against the head board listening to her music and drifted off to sleep too. Chloe woke up to the sound of someone knocking. She grabbed her gun and made her way to the door. "Who is it?"

"Room service Mam." Chloe looked through the peep hole then took the chain off of the door to let the man in. She hid the gun behind her back and told him to please put the food on the table. She reached into her jean's pocket and pulled out money for a tip and sent the server on his way.

Jack shouldn't have been surprised, he knew Chloe had weapons training when she worked at CTU, but she seemed so much more in command now, less hesitant than he remembered her being with a gun. She seemed completely at ease. Life with Free Cell had changed her. Jack felt a bit naked without his own weapon and thought he would ask Chloe if she could get one for him. However, before he even got the opportunity to get the words out, Chloe pulled out a duffel bag from underneath the bed. "I got you both a Sig Sauer P228 pistol and a Heckler and Koch USP compact chambered for 9mm cartridge.

"Wow Chloe, I don't know what to say except is there anything you don't know about me?" Chloe wanted to say, "Yes, Jack, there are plenty of things I don't know about you. What's your favorite pizza topping? Do you watch football? How do you take your popcorn? Extra butter? Light on the salt perhaps? Do you read for pleasure? How many lovers have you had? What's your favorite movie? What kind of music do you listen to? Do you like dogs? What age were you when you had sex for the first time? What's your favorite drink? However, all she could say was, "I do know a lot about you Jack, but there are a lot of things I don't know too." Jack felt the sting of never bringing Chloe into any part of his life other than CTU. He wanted that to change now.

Both of them didn't realize how hungry they were until they started eating. Chloe was particularly quiet. "Chloe are you oaky?" Jack asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Jack. I will just feel better when your surgery is over."

"With everything you've done and the people you've hired I have no doubt that it will, you always handle everything." Chloe smiled "Thanks Jack, I hope so." When they finished their meal Chloe realized she wanted something sweet to eat, actually she NEEDED something sweet to eat. She had been so busy that she wasn't able to sneak in her candy today and she was beginning to have sugar withdrawals. "I'm going to the vending machine to get some candy do you want anything?"

Jack stared at Chloe for a moment, less than two days ago he was praying for death in a Russian prison and now Chloe was asking him if he wanted a candy bar. He just couldn't wrap his brain around it."Jack? You want something?"

"Yeah, actually I do, grab me a Three Musketeers please."

"You got it."

Chloe came back to the room with a pile of candy bars. Chloe saw the look on Jack face. "Hey! Don't judge me, I have a very fast metabolism and it requires copious amount of chocolaty goodness. Also, in a crisis a few candy bars can keep me from becoming hangry. Trust me Jack; you do not want to see this woman hangry. In that state I could possibly even scare you." She said with a smile.

Jack was surprised how funny Chloe was, but then again she seemed to constantly surprise him as of late. "No, judgment Chloe, apparently candy agrees with you because you look fantastic for someone who stock piles chocolate bars like we are preparing for a zombie apocalypse." He laughed, "And thanks for the warning I'll make sure to stay clear of you at the first signs of hangry."

"You're a wise man Jack…a wise man."

Jack had a couple of bites of his candy bar and set the rest on the table, Chloe was almost done with candy bar number two. Jack made a mental note for future reference, a Snickers, MilkyWay, and a Recess Peanut Butter Cup. Chloe asked, "Are you going to finish that?" Jack smiled and threw her the half eaten candy bar.

"Chloe, I know you have been busy, and I needed to catch my breath, but I really need to talk to you now that we have some time."

"I know Jack." They sat on the beds across from each other.

"Chloe, first I just want to tell you how sorry I am about Prescott and Morris, we never really got a chance to talk in London when you told me about what happened to them. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."

"If I'm being perfectly honest Jack, I'm sorry you weren't there for me too, I could have really used a friend, I had nobody. I was so lost Jack, and I couldn't find my way out of the maze I was in. I blamed the government; I blamed the very institutions that betrayed you and me so many times before. It's how I ended up working with Adrian at Free Cell. I was so angry, and nothing made sense to me anymore. I had nothing and no one to lose, Since the day Prescott was born he was my reason for everything, and when he died, I died too Jack." Chloe had tears in her eyes. Jack moved next to hear and held her in his arms and just let her cry. He hugged her tightly; he had no words that could help her. Chloe melted in his arms; she quickly realized it was nice having the safety of someone to confide in that didn't turn her pain into anger like Adrian had done.

When Chloe pulled herself together she quit crying and wiped her eyes, she was sure she looked like a drowned raccoon, but somehow she didn't care in the moment. "Jack there's something I have to tell you." She hesitated only because she wanted to stop time and have his stay with her forever; she was already feeling sad about when he would be well enough to leave. Chloe knew it was time he had the truth of his situation, and she knew Jack deserved a life of happiness with Kim and his grandbabies. "What is it Chloe? What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong Jack, in fact it's really good news. President Heller gave you and I a full Presidential Pardon for all past crimes before he resigned, so once you're healed Jack, you're free to go back home, free to see Kim, Terri, and little Jack."

"I knew Kim had another baby, but I didn't know it was a little boy and I didn't know she named him Jack." Chloe could tell that made Jack happy because it was proof that Kim still loved him even after all they had gone through. Chloe could see the gleam in Jack's eye that his grandson was named after him. "Chloe this is such good news, I can't believe we've been pardoned."

"Yeah, that's really great news Jack. I'm really happy for you. I've been keeping tabs on Kim and her family like you asked me to before you left. I hired three ex-MOSSAD agents to watch over her and her family. She knows they are there, and they keep their distance so as not to interfere with her life or the life of the children. She is covered 24/7. and don't worry Jack, I've vetted them thoroughly they all had exemplary records, and you well know that MOSSAD are some of the best agents in the world. They are paid very well to look after them."

"Thank you Chloe for everything, but I still don't understand without the backing of the government how you could afford to make all this happen. This operation would have cost millions upon millions of dollars; I just don't understand how were you able to get the finances to pull this off?"

"Adrian had a program that no one was aware of; it was a new one he hadn't used yet. We designed it to attack people's personal bank accounts, but we didn't want to hurt the "average Joe" so it would only take five dollars from every account it hit and nothing more. From there the money is pouring in from bank accounts all over the world and then it's being funneled into hundreds of different accounts globally and then from there it's being fed into a few different accounts and all of them are layered with multiple layers of maximum security firewalls that even the best of the best would have trouble breaking through, but eventually with enough time someone will and so you see Jack I can never go back. They haven't been able to find me yet, but it's only a matter of time." Chloe could see the disappointment on Jack's face. It crushed her heart, but he was an honorable man so she understood why he would disapprove of her fleecing innocent people. "Jack, I'm sorry I've disappointed you again, I just didn't have any other way to help you, and not helping you wasn't an option for me."

"Chloe, I'm not disappointed in you. You don't understand, I'm just so sorry that my problems became your problems yet again, and I've done nothing but ruin your life time and time again. Only this time, I've put you in danger of losing your freedom."

Chloe held both of Jack's hands while telling him, "Jack, I lost my freedom a long time ago, I'm in prison every single day since Prescott died, and if what I did keeps you free so that you can love your family and be with them then it was worth it, even if I'm caught there are no regrets. Jack, what life did I have to go back to? No family, no friends, no career, even with a pardon no one was ever going to trust me enough to hire me after what I did working with Free Cell. So please don't feel bad Jack, whether I'm inside or outside a cell it doesn't matter, this was my choice and I would do it again if it meant you could be with your family, if I was instrumental in you getting a part of your life back after all the pain I've caused you then it was well worth it. So when you are done getting better you need to leave and never look back. You have to distance yourself from me so you don't get caught up in whatever mess may unfold from all of this."

"Chloe, you've never caused me any pain. Me being in that Russian prison had nothing to do with you and everything to do with what I did after they killed Renee. The only thing you have ever done was be a friend to me and watch my back, and I'm not leaving you behind. You're not alone Chloe, not anymore. I'm here now and I'm not going to leave you."

"Look Jack, this isn't up for negotiation, I'm not going to sit here and argue with you. You will go when you are well enough to leave because we didn't rescue you out of one prison so that you could go to another. Now…I'm going to take a shower, you have your weapon, and the chain is on the door, if anyone comes through it, kill them! I'll leave the bathroom door slightly open so I can hear you call me if you need me." Chloe got up and left without saying another word and went to the shower. Her heart was breaking, she wanted to tell Jack to stay, to never go back, and she knew he would out of loyalty and duty and honor if she asked him to, but she could never do that to him even if it meant he would stay with her forever.

Jack watched Chloe slip into the bathroom. Chloe had sacrificed everything for him, and he knew it wasn't the first time. Only this time the stakes she lost in the process were too high and were irreversible. He had literally shattered the life of another person he cared for. James Heller once told him that he was cursed and that he ruined everything he touched. He didn't believe him then, but now he understood James Heller was right.

Jack looked up from the floor and saw Chloe's reflection in the bathroom mirror. She didn't realize that she could be seen from his angle. She was crying again, he wished he could say something to ease her pain. She slipped off her clothes, he instinctively looked away to divert his eyes, but they wandered back up as if they had a will of their own. She had porcelain white skin and full hips, her wait was still tiny even after having a baby, he could see she had stretch marks, evidence of carrying the life of a baby on her small framed body. He thought they made her quite beautiful; it was a reminder of her unique ability as a woman to produce life. He remembered Terri had been so self conscious of hers, and he never understood why because she had brought forth from her body the most beautiful gift he could ever have hoped for, his Kimberly. Chloe had dyed her hair back to her reddish strawberry blond. He preferred it over the harsh black she had changed it to when he last saw her in London. He watched her as she was evaluating her face, he could see she was disappointed by her reflection as she wiped the tears away from her cheeks and played with the fine lines that now etched her eyes lifting them and pulling them away to reveal a decade younger version of herself. She pulled and patted the dark circles under her eyes as well. She was plainly irritated by the proof of her lack of sleep, and Jack knew it had been because of him and now the threat of her freedom coming to an end, he wished he could take her worry away. She finally moved away from the mirror and into the shower.

Jack felt a tinge of guilt he knew he shouldn't have invaded her privacy like that, although he wasn't sorry for it because it afforded him a small glimpse into a vulnerable side of Chloe, one that he had never been privy too before. She always had her guard up; she was just like him when it came to that. Walls were just a part of who they were. Jack was beginning to have feelings for Chloe; he didn't think they were real when he was in prison. He rationalized that she was the last face of friendship and love that he would ever see and that's why he felt a growing sense of love towards her. However, they were beginning to feel real now, as real as anything he had ever felt before and he could no longer blame them on being in a Russian prison cell. Plenty of time locked away made him confront the realization of many things, one of them being that the feelings he had for Renee wasn't real love, he cared for her deeply, but it was more of a need to help a fellow broken soul, and at the time Jack needed to be needed too. He understood Renee; he had been where she was. He knew how to help her and he wanted to feel something, to feel anything again. Looking back, he realized he felt obligated to her for pulling her into such a dark hole, he felt responsible for her being suicidal, but he wasn't in love with her. Yes, he avenged her death, sick and tired of evil, ruthless, callous, men destroying and killing people, people that he cared for. He took out all his anger on the Russians for Renee, but it was also for Terri, for Michelle, for Tony, for Audrey, for his daughter for what everyone had been through and the people they had lost at CTU. Yes, he was avenging Renee against the wickedness that was in these men, but it was for the malevolence that was in every man that had ever stolen something or someone from him.

He had once loved Audrey years and years ago, he could never move on even though she had out of guilt about having to leave her and say goodbye when she got back from China, but now that she was gone her death had left a little room in his heart to love someone else again, and the more time he spent with Chloe the more real his feelings were becoming for her.

A few days had gone by and it was finally time for Jack's surgery. "Jack wake up, wake up Jack." Chloe was gently tapping him on his shoulder. "You fell asleep Jack, but you can't eat past eleven because of your surgery tomorrow, and you can't afford to skip a meal so I'm making you eat." It took a second for Jack to sit up all the way. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Well it is ten now, so quite a while, but you obviously needed it. I ordered you some soup, a salad, and some soft bread rolls."

"Sounds great can you help me to the chair?" Chloe helped Jack hobble to the chair at the table.

"I still can't believe I slept so late,"

"Well between your injuries, and your pain pills no wonder…"

"Yeah true, I see you ordered foods I can eat with missing teeth again; I've noticed everything you have ordered is something I can easily eat. You really do think of every detail Chlo." She blushed every time he called her that. "I'm sorry Chloe that you have to see me like this and are stuck playing nurse maid, I'm sure it's the last thing in the world you wanted to do."

"It's kind of nice being needed by someone Jack, so I don't mind."

"I hate it Chloe, I hate hobbling around and being so dependent on someone. It's just not me, I hate everything about it."

"Quit feeling sorry for yourself Jack, You're going to get your surgery, your teeth are going to be fixed, your eye will heal in time, and you'll go back to being as gorgeous as you always were." Oh damn it! She thought to herself. Really Chloe? Why do you always have to blurt out the first thing that comes to your mind? It's called a filter! She thought to herself. Chloe wished she had a backspace button so she could have a do over. Jack laughed out loud, "Wow, Chloe you think I was gorgeous?"

Chloe liked the sound of his laugh; she never really remembered hearing it before. "Don't go getting a big head Jack, and don't pretend like you didn't already know that about yourself either."

"You're crazy Chloe, I've never thought that about myself."

"If you say so Jack." Jack and Chloe finished their meal over small talk and Chloe was quite enjoying it.

"Chloe, I hate to ask but I'm desperate for another favor, I know it's late but is there any way you can wheel me outside. I just want to smell the ocean air and feel that ocean breeze on my face."

"I think I can handle that." Chloe took Jack outside so he could see the ocean under the moonlight. "You know Chloe, I never thought I would hear the waves of the ocean crashing on the shore, or see a moonlit night ever again. You don't know how incredible it is just to smell the sea…" It was the first time in years that Chloe had ever seen Jack enjoying himself, the very nature of their work together at CTU never allowed for such moments. Chloe was trying to take in the scenery too, who knows when her last view of an ocean might be. Her own freedom was hanging by a thread, she thought to herself.

"Beautiful!"

"Yeah, it really is." Chloe turned just in time to see that Jack was actually staring at her and not the ocean when he said that. When she caught him looking at her he smiled. She quickly turned away and kept her eyes glued to the waves. She didn't know what to think, had Jack just called her beautiful? "We better call it a night Jack, you need your rest and you have a very long day ahead of you tomorrow. "Sure thing, Chlo."

The next morning had come and gone and Jack was now resting comfortably at the hotel room, he was being monitored by his doctor and nurse, there were no complications with his surgeries. After a few days the doctor wanted to see him again at the clinic and wanted to take another x-ray to make sure the pins were set correctly and that everything was healing properly. His dental implants looked nice and would take about three to four months to heal completely, but the dentist said there should be no problems with them either.

Chloe made sure Jack was well taken care of, her own prescription was milkshakes twice a day and butter on everything. Chloe was always insistent on making sure Jack ate all that he could stand. A side of oatmeal in the morning with whatever breakfast he ate and a side of mash potatoes with every dinner. Jack had never eaten so much food in his entire life. Chloe was pleased with her efforts, she had been determined to make sure he gained the weight he had lost in Black Dolphin and it was working. His face was starting to fill out again, his clothes didn't seem to hang so loosely on his frame, and she even had him working out with hand weights to help him regain some of his strength.

Jack was walking with crutches now and getting stronger every day, he had even made it to the beach a few times to soak up some sun and enjoy the scenery. Today was another beach day. Chloe could sometimes imagine that life was good, and that the cloud of fear hanging over her wasn't real. She could almost pretend that the Russians weren't looking for Jack by now, and that the government wasn't looking for whoever had fleeced millions of dollars from unsuspecting people.

Chloe had her eyes closed; she was lying on a towel with her elbows in the sand. Her face was starting to get pink; she could never stay in the sun too long without the covering of an umbrella, it just took minutes for her alabaster skin to turn from pink to red. She repositioned herself under the shade of umbrella and then asked Jack, "Am I red yet?"

"No, just a little pink."

"Good, I hate to burn, but the sun just felt so good I couldn't help but soak some of it up."

Chloe seemed like such a young girl when Jack first met her, as he watched her eat her second candy bar of the day, he noticed the fine lines around her eyes had only added to her beauty, if fact she was more beautiful now that life and time had not only added character to her face, but it had also added confidence, a confidence that she hadn't known when she was younger. Even though she was smiling and talking in the moment, he could feel the weight of what losing Prescott had done to her. He thought she had aged beautifully, but the heartache behind her hazel eyes could not easily be hidden, at least not from him.

"Jack the doctor will be back to look in on you one last time at the clinic before he releases you out of his care. Any follow up can be done in the states. After his visit you are free to go back home."

"You're trying to get rid of me already?"

Chloe looked down at the sand then found the courage to look into Jack's steel blue eyes. Softly she said, "No, jack I'm not trying to get rid of you. In fact I'm going to miss you very much, but it's time for you to get back to your family." She quickly looked away for fear she would start crying in front of him again. She hated weakness especially in herself and turned away before she would make a fool of herself yet again. She had cried far too many times in front of him lately and she hated it.

Jack gently grabbed her face so that she was forced to look at him. "You're my family too Chlo." He leaned in and kissed her softly. Chloe gracelessly jumped back from his kiss. She was so surprised. Did Jack feel for her the way she felt for him? What the hell? She asked herself, why did I pull away from him? Why do I have to be so bloody awkward?

"I'm so sorry Chloe, I shouldn't have done that."

She wanted words to come out of her mouth, but they wouldn't come no matter how hard she tried to will them to, there was only deafening silence. Jack said, "Can you help me up?" Chloe was on auto pilot, she grabbed his crutches and handed them to him, and without another word to each other they walked back to the hotel room. Jack knew he blew it, he let his feelings get in the way, and now Chloe had shut down. Jack sat on the bed disgusted with himself. "Look Chloe, I don't know what happened back there, I shouldn't have done that. I'm embarrassed, and I really don't know what else I can say except that I'm sorry and can we just forget that happened and move on?"

Chloe blurted out, "No Jack! No, I don't want to forget it happened." Jack was confused she obviously didn't feel the same way about him that he did her. She walked over to him and without another word like a self-conscious school girl leaned in to kiss him, only this time when she touched his lips she melted into his kiss. Jack was taken aback by her heat, her passion was all consuming. There was nothing soft like the kiss on the beach; she practically ripped his shirt off. Her hands traced over every scar on his chest, but he felt no shame. She began kissing each one of them. She pulled him closer to her while kissing his throat and his shoulders. Jack took her shirt off, and she crawled behind him she traced her finger over every old wound on his back and kissed them softly and then more feverishly. She wrapped her legs around his waist and made her way down his neck and back. She was spinning Jack out of control. He pulled her around so she was in front of him and slipped the rest of her clothes off; she helped take his off too. Years of love, worry, pain, and heartache came pouring out of both of them. Jack couldn't believe this was happening, this was him and Chloe. She guided herself on top of him carefully not wanting to put her full weight on him and hurt his leg. He grabbed the back of her porcelain white shoulders while she expertly moved to an instinctual rhythm. When he thought he could no longer control himself he rolled her over and dominated her with his whole being, she eagerly accepted him again and again. Both of them sweaty and heated from their exchange cried out in ecstasy in unison.

Chloe had been married before and slept with a couple of different people in her life, so she wasn't a prude, but she never felt so free as she just did with Jack. Chloe felt safe with Jack and she let all of her inhibitions go. She couldn't believe what just happened between them. This was Jack, the man she had loved for years, the one she was positive could never feel the same way about her, but here they were lying in each other's arm tangled up in a sheet. Jack grabbed the back of her head and kissed her passionately. "That was incredible!"

"It was, wasn't it…" Jack heard a lilt in her voice. It had been a long time since he felt this way. Of course there had been a few women while he was underground, but purely for physical reasons, this was something totally unexpected and to have this amazing chemistry with Chloe was absolutely mind blowing.

"Jack?"

"Yeah, Chlo."

"We are still going to be friends after this right?" Jack hugged her tightly while she rested her head on his chest. "Of course we are why would you even ask that?"

"Well, anytime I've ever had sex with a friend it has always ruined the relationship, and I just couldn't bear to lose you as a friend Jack, I never want that to happen, you know?"

"It won't Chloe."

"You're sure about that?" Jack laughed, "Yeah, Chlo, I'm sure."

"Okay she said with a grin on her face, "I'll shut up now."

Chloe reached across Jack to get a sip of water from the glass that was next to him on the night stand. Jack was ready to have her again. He pulled her hands over her head and kissed her face, then her throat, then he made his way down her chest and down to her waist and hips, when Jack reached her stomach as women often instinctively do she pulled his head away from that area of concentration, she was keenly aware of her stretch marks and uncomfortable with any attention focused on her there. Jack sensed her uneasiness, but just as she had done with his scars he traced his fingers over each one of them and kissed them over and over again. He wouldn't let her be ashamed of evidence of Prescott's life on her body. Her eyes welled up with tears, she knew Jack to be courageous, strong; sometimes he could even be violent against men that were responsible for atrocities. He was complicated; often times compassionate, and caring, but to now know the depths of his gentleness and to experience the empathy he had towards her was something that she never could have even imagined. It made her weep even more for the day she would have to say good bye. He wiped the salty tears away from her cheeks and kissed her eyes, her nose, her lips, her neck. She responded to every kiss with equal passion. He firmly held her neck while exploring her femininity. She responded to his touch and started to convulse with passionate abandonment. It's what he had been waiting for and together they had reached the crescendo of their passion riding wave after wave of ecstasy again and again until both lay quietly in each other's arms. After some time had passed and they were both almost asleep Chloe whispered tiredly "Jack?"

"Yeah, Chloe."

"I've wanted to do that for a really long time." Jack squeezed her even tighter and they both fell asleep.

In the morning after they both woke up Jack got out of bed and made a pot of coffee for them. When the coffee was ready they both lay next to each other sipping on their cups, both of them quietly digesting what took place between the two of them.

"Are you okay with what happened last night Chloe? He hoped she hadn't regretted it.

"Yeah Jack, like I said I've wanted to be with you for a long time now."

"I had no idea, you never told me how you felt, and you never gave me any clue that you were ever interested in me like that."

"Oh come on Jack, it shouldn't have been that hard to figure out, but even so there was never going to be a right time. First of all, when would have been a good time to tell you? You were always with someone else, or still had feelings for someone else, or getting over someone else…"

"Okay, okay you've made your point."

"And secondly Jack, I'm not really your type, you never would have seen me the way you saw the other women in your life."

"Umm…I have a type? And if you're not my type what was that, that just happened between us? Because I kind of have to state for the record you were really feeling like my type last night."

"Ha-ha very funny Jack, but really what changed for you? Is this because you feel like you owe me?"

"Well, I am the kind of man that tries to repay my debts," Chloe punched him on his shoulder. "Owe!"

"Seriously Jack, why now?"

"I don't know, I guess when Audrey died it made a little room to even consider the possibility of being with someone else again. Before, even after Audrey was married, I just felt like I was betraying her so I never really got close to anyone else. She had sacrificed so much for me and after what happened to her I guess I just always felt like I couldn't move on, like it would be some kind of betrayal. Even when I was with Renee I kind of felt like I was cheating on her, I know it doesn't make any sense, hell it doesn't make any sense to me either, I know I don't feel that way now. This thing between you and me I guess it started the day we said goodbye. You were the last face I saw before I got on that helicopter, my best friend, the person who had always had my back and stuck by me no matter what. There wasn't a day I didn't think about you and all you had done with me and for me throughout the years while I was in prison."

Chloe still couldn't believe they were here together like this as she listened to what Jack was saying the sadness crept back in because she knew she would have to say goodbye soon. "Jack I know this can't last, but maybe, just maybe you could stay a few days after the doctor sees you."

"I'm not leaving you Chloe."

"Jack not this again; I'm not going to allow you to ruin your life by staying here with me. You are free Jack, but please let's not talk about that anymore. Let's just enjoy the time we have left together." Jack wasn't going to argue with Chloe, she could be so hard headed, but he knew he wasn't going to let Chloe go no matter what she thought was best for him. Jack had disappeared before and he knew he could do it again, only this time it would be with Chloe by his side.

The weight of their lives was a struggle for both Jack and Chloe, but they decided to put all that on a shelf and just enjoy one another. They didn't want to think about the past, or the future, right now was all they cared about. They took a vacation from thire problems that seemed insurmountable, and they stayed buried in the hotel room oblivious to the world around them. They couldn't get enough of each other, they had spent these last few days feasting on one another and devouring every delight their bodies had to offer one another. Each encounter healed a little more of their hearts. They barely came up for food or air.

Their room was littered with candy wrappers and coffee cups, and plates from ordering room service. It had been three days since housekeeping had been allowed in to clean up after them and the towels were beginning to pile up, so today they decided to take in the local flavor and let the maid come in to clean their disaster of a room. Chloe felt bad for whoever was getting their room, so she left the maid a huge tip. Chloe had felt dead for so long, although she would never get over the death of Prescott, life was returning to her.

Jack and Chloe stopped at a little shop near the beach and got some coffee and sweetbreads. They both felt almost normal, like they had regained access to the land of the living where people talked, laughed, smiled, made love, enjoyed simple pleasures such as a warm sun and ocean breezes. It was a little bit of heaven on earth and neither one of them wanted it to end. Jack and Chloe knew better than most what kind of evil filled this world. It had been their job to protect people from it, and both knew that it was just a matter of time before the realities of their world caught up to them. They were both hoping that for just a little while longer they could hold on to the magic that had been theirs for taking the last few days.

Chloe's phone rang while they were finishing up their sweet bread. "Hello." The woman was whispering on the other end of the phone. Chloe's heart sank, she could barely understand her, but she knew exactly who she was and her reason for calling. Weeks ago Chloe left a burner phone with one of the nurses at the clinic. She instructed her to call if anyone came around looking for Jack. Chloe paid her very well to be discreet. In hushed panicked tones she told Chloe that the Russians were there, "They are hitting the doctor asking him questions about Jack, he told him he never heard of him, but they don't believe him. They are hurting him." The woman screamed and the phone went silent.

"Jack their here, the Russians are here. I don't know how they found us but they did." Jack and Chloe quickly got in their car and drove to the hotel to pick up Chloe's supplies, but when they arrived a team of Russians were already there, they were too late. "Jack we let our guard down, my lap top is in the room, and the people at the clinic."

"Chloe there's nothing we can do for them now; hopefully they left when they couldn't find me. Whatever has been done, had been done."

"Jack I shouldn't have involved them."

"Chloe they knew it would be dangerous when they took your money, it's not your fault. We have to get out of here now, there's no way I'm going to let them catch me alive, I'm not going back, I can't."

"It's okay Jack, that's not going to happen. I have a protocol in place we just need to get to the marina."

"My family Chloe, they're in danger now."

"No, Jack I didn't tell you everything, as soon as you were rescued Kim and her family left town. She was given new identities for all of them. We talked about it and made arrangement for them before I ever left to get you, and she agreed to it all, if there was a chance to save you she wanted me to take it, and she agreed to go so she could keep her family safe."

"Chloe, you had no right to keep that from me, I can't believe Kim's life is being disrupted again because of me!"

"Jack we both knew you would feel that way, and Kim wanted you concentrating on getting better not worrying about your family, your worry wasn't going to help them out of this, and it wasn't going to help you in any way either. I'm sorry, I truly am. I was eventually going to tell you, I just wanted you to have a little peace Jack."

"Damn it Chloe, you wanted me to have a little peace? I never thought you would lie to me Chloe, not you!" Chloe knew Jack would be angry when he found out, but she had no idea he would see it as a betrayal. "Chloe, you should have left me in that prison, I can't stand what I've done to her, I've managed to mess up Kim's life once again."

"God Jack! Do you think her life would have been any less messed up knowing you were being tortured and eventually killed in a prison cell in Russia somewhere? She would have never seen you again and somehow you think that was a better alternative for her?"

"Yes, I do!"

"Well, I'm sorry Jack, you're wrong there wasn't any other alternative, and there's nothing that can be done about it now, so you're going to have to get over being pissed at me long enough to get out of this so that it wasn't all for nothing, so that her sacrifice meant something. Kim loves you Jack and she would have done it a hundred times over to save you!" Chloe continued to drive to the marina that had a boat docked with enough supplies to last them a few weeks.

"So what's the plan Chloe?"

"I have a boat, it has supplies, a small cache of weapons, everything we need to get out of here and make it to the states."

"Sounds like you thought of everything." Only this time when Jack said it, she didn't like the tone in which he said it with. He was angry with her, and Chloe just couldn't leave it alone.

"Jack, I couldn't leave you to rot in that prison, I couldn't leave you to die there, and if you hate me forever for that, I'm just going to have to live with it, but I wouldn't have done it any differently."

Jack yelled out, "Well I would have! I would have Chloe... I never would have put Kim's family in danger." Chloe snapped back, "Well you didn't! I did!"

When they arrived at the marina there were already three Russian operatives patrolling the docks. Jack and Chloe were vulnerable to attack and capture, but there was no way they were going to be able to board the vessel without getting rid of them first. "Jack you can't walk without crutches let alone run so you need to stay here, they're going to see you coming from a mile away." Chloe was going to have to handle this on her own; she parked the car just down the street from the Marina. "Chloe what are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed."

"Jack open the glove compartment and give me the gun."

"Chloe…"

"Just give me the damn gun Jack!" She pulled some shoes, a dress, and a wig from a bag behind the passenger seat. She quickly slipped the short, black, snug body con dress on and just as hurriedly put the red stiletto hills with matching red lipstick on that she grabbed from her purse. Lastly she put on the dark black wig and sunglasses and opened the car door.

"Chloe stop!" Chloe kept on moving. "Chloe stop please!"

"Listen Jack if I don't come back just know I'm not mad at you for yelling at me, and I forgive you." She shut the door and started to make her way to the marina. When Chloe arrived to the docks she acted as if she were looking for a man who she met at a bar who was going to show her his big beautiful boat. She walked up to the first Spetsnaz agent. "Sir, do you work here?" She put her best exaggerated Southern Draw on that she could muster. He shook his head no. "Well, I'm just as lost as girl could be. I was supposed to meet a man that I met at a bar yesterday, he invited me to come see his yacht and I'm looking for slip knot number 142. Do you know where I could find that?"

"No, now leave me alone, I don't work here and I don't know where it is."

Chloe walked even closer to him and put her hand on his chest. "You seem a little stressed out handsome, maybe you would like to grab a margarita with me?"

"Maybe some other time beautiful, I'm busy now."

"Well okay then, I'll just have to take you up on that, another time then." Once she knew his guard was down she slid her hand down his chest and grabbed the gun he had at his waist and shot him without hesitation, she used his body as a shield when the other agent shot at her and she took him out too. She was taking fire from the last man on the dock and she dove behind a large concrete block, she waited for him to empty his gun, they were carrying Makarov pistols and they could either be fitted for ten or twelve rounds, she counted of the shots. She fired back a couple of times just to keep him shooting 8,9,10,11…that meant he had one more, 12. As soon as his magazine was empty she went for the kill shot and took him down with her second try. Jack couldn't believe he just witnessed Chloe handle that situation as good as any field operative he had ever worked with could have.

Chloe ran back to the car and quickly drove it close to the dock so Jack wouldn't have far to walk. People started gathering around and they had to leave quickly before the authorities showed up. Soon the Russians would have their locations when their men didn't respond. Jack and Chloe had only minutes to make their escape.

Chloe knew the only hope for Jack to remain free would be to get him back on American soil. She may get caught there, but at least it would be an American jail and not a Russian one. It would take almost a day to travel by boat from Les Cayes to Kingston Jamaica, and from there they could fly from Kingston to Fort Lauderdale. Chloe and Jack both decided they would be sitting ducks if they stayed in the ocean too long so they would take the soonest flight they could once they reached their Jamaican destination.

Chloe had everything they needed including passports, money and bug out bags on the boat for both of them. Neither one of them spoke very much for the first few hours while leaving the D.R. tensions were high between them, but after some time on the water they both cooled off. Jack was the first to break the ice.

"Chloe, where did you learn to handle yourself like that?"

"Well, Jack I did watch you from coms for years, none of it by the way was wasted on me. Also, Adrian took our combat readiness seriously in case we were put in a jam. He made me get comfortable in tactical situations."

"It looked like you were more than just comfortable; it looked like you had done something like that before and not just in training." Chloe didn't answer that question and Jack didn't push it.

"When we arrive in Florida we will have to deal with U.S. customs, but everything should be fine. You aren't wanted by any Federal or State agencies and you shouldn't have any problems."

"And what about you?

"I should be good too for now, I guess we'll find out when we get there if they're on to me, I have no way of knowing because I left my damn computer at the hotel room. I'm going to give you Kim's address and phone number now. I don't have to tell you to memorize them and then get rid of them."

Jack laughed, "No, Chloe, I think remember how this works, I've been around that block once or twice before."

"Of course you have Jack, I'm sorry. Here is an address to a storage facility in Ft. Lauderdale; it's supplied with everything you need. It has weapons, clothes, burner phones, and it even has the kind of messenger bag you like to use. Here are the keys to the car parked there."

"You act like we aren't going together."

"We aren't Jack."

"That ridiculous, yes, we are."

"No Jack, I don't think it is. There are a lot of things I can handle, but getting you caught up in the backlash that's coming isn't one of them. I did what I had to do, and I'm okay with my consequences, but I'm not oaky with you being imprisoned again because they think you had something to do with all the things that I've done."

"Chloe look, I was upset before about Kim and her family having to pick up and relocate, I'm sorry for what I said. I know you did all of this for me, and I'm grateful, you aren't in this alone. You're coming with me, and that's all there is to it."

"No, Jack my mind is made up. Everything I did is on me, and I'm not bringing the heat on you for this mess. Like I said, you have a family to go home to Jack, and Kim gave up a lot to have you back. We can't risk you not being able to be with her after everything, you aren't going to talk me into changing my mind." Jack knew she was resolute, but if he couldn't talk her into changing her mind maybe he could convince her another way.

Jack grabbed the back of Chloe's hair and tilted her head back to expose her throat. He kissed her lips and then her neck, biting her gently over and over. He had learned quickly over the little time they had spent together what she responded to. He kissed her passionately once more. This time Chloe gave in to his kiss; she couldn't help herself when it came to Jack. She had always given into his demands. What was this strange hold he held over her? She had just enough will power to break free from his embrace, she pushed him away."Please Jack, stop… I… I can't be responsible for any more of your unhappiness, or for bringing any more disasters into your life." Jack refused to listen to her, her refused to let her go, he turned her around and lifted her black dress just above her hips and slid her underwear down her legs exposing what he wanted access to. With ease he found what he wanted maneuvering his way through her defenses. When she was ready for him he pushed himself deep inside of her. Jack whispered in Chloe's ear. "You belong with me Chloe." With those five simple words she was his. She didn't, she couldn't speak, her mind was spinning, he was like a drug. They made love under the stars and she knew then as always she would never be able to say no to jack. Their love making had been aggressive and animalistic, but when they were done Jack gently kissed Chloe's lips, his delicate soft kisses made their way to her cheeks and eyes. "You're with me, right Chloe? No more talk of leaving?"

"Oaky Jack." She hoped they both wouldn't regret that decision.

Once Chloe and Jack arrived in Florida, they made their way through customs without any problems. They took a taxi to the storage facility Chloe told Jack about, and picked up the car and some much needed supplies. Almost eight hours later they arrived in Georgia, they were both exhausted.

They pulled into the hotel parking lot, Chloe picked up dinner while Jack got them checked in. Chloe ran across the street to a little hole in the wall that advertised barbeque. She knew those were the best places to eat. When she came back she realized she didn't know what room Jack was in so she asked the front desk for the room number.

Chloe knocked on the door; it took a moment for Jack to get there because he was still using crutches to get around. "Hot Barbeque and it smells delicious." She said with a smile.

"Wow how many people are we feeding?" Jack could never get over how much Chloe could eat and stay so thin. By the time their meal was over Chloe had eaten two pulled pork sandwiches, 12 ounces of barbeque brisket, all her sides and had finished what Jack didn't eat. Jack shook his head in amazement and awe, "My gosh Chloe, you do have a fast metabolism, I've never seen anything like it."

"Stop, it wasn't that bad." She laughed out loud. "Once I had a boyfriend dump me because he said I was costing him too much money and he couldn't afford to feed me on our dates anymore." Chloe's laugh made Jack feel like the world could be good again.

Chloe already knew that this would be the last night she spent with Jack. She was doing everything in her power to pretend that everything was okay. She kept talking, and joking, and laughing, she didn't want Jack to see behind the fragile façade. Chloe wanted Jack to have good memories of her. She knew disappearing was the right thing to do and she couldn't get lost in Jack again or she would never find the strength to say goodbye.

Jack turned on the television to watch some news. They both had been out of touch with what was going on in the world around them. "Do you miss it Jack?"

"Miss what?"

"You know, being needed by your country, by CTU, by being involved in the kind of things that used to make headline news?"

"Sometimes, I guess…it was where I belonged. I always felt like that line of work chose me, kind of like I was born to do it, but honestly I've had more than enough it, I just want to live a normal quiet life, and enjoy you and the rest of my family for whatever time I have left in this world."

Chloe wondered if that was indeed true, and her heart was breaking knowing she wouldn't be with him by the end of the night. He was the only bit of happiness she had experienced since Prescott had died and now that was going to be over soon. Chloe had to get out of the room before Jack could see how troubled she was, she couldn't hide from Jack how she was feeling much longer. "I'm going to take a shower Jack."

"Before you do, can you come here for a second?" Chloe walked over to Jack and he pulled her down next to him, and kissed her, "Take a shower after."

"No, Jack I need to freshen up."

"Nonsense you smell delicious." Jack moved her hair to expose the skin of her neck and kissed her throat. Chloe closed her eyes and gave into her need for Jack. When they were finished Chloe excused herself to the shower. Jack could feel there was something wrong, but it was obvious to him that Chloe wasn't ready to talk about whatever it was that was troubling her.

A few minutes later Jack slipped into the shower with Chloe. He pressed his body against her back and wrapped his arms around her. "Do you mind if I join you?"

Chloe slowly turned around and buried her face into his chest. "No, I don't mind." She said softly. Jack lifted her chin to meet her eyes, "Chloe, what is it? What's wrong?" She stared back into his eyes wishing she could tell him, wishing she could explain everything and somehow he could make it all go away, but instead she lied and said, "Nothing Jack, nothing's wrong."

"Chlo, are you sure? I feel like there is. You know you can talk to me about anything, about whatever it is that's got you so upset."

"I know Jack; I would tell you if something was wrong. I'm just a little tired." She had become an expert liar, a skill that had grown exponentially over the years, and ironically enough it was because of Jack that she had to learn how to lie to begin with, always covering for him with their superiors and having to lie to his family and friends about faking his death. She didn't like how easy it came to her now, almost second nature, and she especially didn't like lying to Jack, but she had no choice.

It was astonishing to her how many things had been revealed to her about who Jack was in the short amount of time they had spent together in the D.R. It was a far cry from the years they had spent working side by side at CTU. In just a few short weeks she had learned more about Jack's life then she had in over a decade of working with him. Jack liked country music and could actually carry a tune, who knew? She thought to herself. Chloe was gaining insight into the man that had remained an enigma to her for so long. It was extraordinary to her that she had become privy to the actual man learning about the personal side of Jack, not just Jack the operative, what a contrast to the years gone by. She felt like everything was so surreal, this dreamlike existence hovered somewhere between the Twilight Zone, and a little bit of heaven.

Jack and Chloe finished showering and got ready for bed. Chloe knew she wanted to make love to Jack one last time before she left. Jack's affections had awakened her to life once again after feeling nothing inside for years. She was thankful to feel something of love again even if it was temporary. Chloe knew from the beginning that none of it was real, and that what was happening between her and Jack wouldn't last, but she had allowed herself to pretend and make believe even if it was just for a little while.

Chloe understood that she could never be what Terri, or Audrey was to Jack, she could never compete with the elegant, sophisticated women they were and she could never hold a place in Jack's heart like they once had. It would only be a matter of time before Jack figured that out for himself. Chloe was convinced that Jack had feelings for her only because they were spurred on by loneliness from being in prison, and exasperated by gratefulness for being rescued. Chloe knew it, but she didn't care, she just wanted to be with him until she couldn't be any longer, and now that time had come.

Jack began to kiss Chloe he just couldn't get enough of her. He knew something was off, something was holding Chloe back. He could sense she was disengaged emotionally even if she was acting as if everything was okay. "Chloe, did I do something wrong or say something to upset you?"

"No, not at all Jack." She laid her head on his chest.

"You seem kind of far away, am I boring you already?" He teased.

"I'm sorry Jack, I'm here and I'll prove it to you." She said with a smile. She covered up her feelings by diving into a kiss. She let it all go, she wanted there to be nothing between them this one last time. The clock was running out of time and she just wanted to enjoy every second she had left with Jack. Their night together was incredible as every other night was with him. She would miss him terribly, but she was glad that they connected and as much as it would hurt to be without him she would never be sorry for any of it.

It was about three in the morning when Jack finally fell into a deep sleep. She was tangled in his arms; she carefully and quietly tried to slip out of bed. Jack began to stir, but she was able to free herself before waking him up. She knew he would be exhausted after the night of passion they had just shared and she was grateful he stayed asleep.

Chloe brought a pen and paper into the bathroom and began to write Jack a goodbye note. It simply stated, "No regrets Jack, I will always love you! Goodbye, now go be the father and grandfather you were meant to be. Please don't look for me, I know how to disappear too, it would be a waste of precious time better spent with your family. She folded the note and left it on the sink.

Chloe quickly got dressed and gathered her things into a duffel bag. She set it by the front door. "Chloe what are you doing?" It was dark so she didn't think he had seen the bag. "Oh you know me Jack, I'm going to go snag a candy bar. Do you want one?"

"None for me."

"Oaky, I'll be right back."

Jack turned over and Chloe waited until she heard his breathing return to the slow steady pattern it did when one was sleeping. Chloe wanted to kiss him one last time, but knew he would probably wake up so instead she picked up the duffel bag and walked out the door.

Jack didn't wake up until almost 7:30 the next morning. He looked at the clock and smiled. He had slept in exhausted from being with Chloe. He still couldn't believe how good it was between them. He didn't smell any coffee brewing yet; usually Chloe had a pot of coffee going the first thing in the morning, so he thought he would start it for her. "The woman sure did love her coffee." He thought to himself. Jack needed to use the restroom; the bathroom door was slightly ajar. He knocked, "Chloe?" There was no answer. He thought she must have gone to get breakfast. When he was done, he noticed the folded paper on the sink. He unfolded the note thinking Chloe must have let him know she was getting them something to eat. He read it, and couldn't believe it; he read it again still not wanting to believe what Chloe had wrote.

"Damn it Chloe, what have you done?"

Jack got dressed as fast as he could. The night shift manager was just about to clock out, Jack asked him, "Did you see a woman leave here somewhere between 3:00 in the morning and now? She might have called a taxi?"

"No, she didn't take a taxi. You're talking about the woman you were with, the one with reddish blond hair?"

"Yeah that's her, you saw her?"

"She was hitch hiking at around three fifteen this morning, maybe three twenty. I was taking the office trash out to the dumpster and thought to myself do people still do that? It's so dangerous now days especially for a pretty little lady like her."

"Do you know what direction she was heading?"

"East, it was a red Chevy 150 that picked her up, I couldn't tell you anything more that's all I noticed."

"Thanks."

Jack knew she could be anywhere by now. It wasn't going to be easy to find her. He had lost his wife Terri, he lost Audrey, and he wasn't going to lose Chloe too. She rescued him from prison, but he knew she had rescued him from much more than that. He would get her back no matter how long it took. "Damn it Chloe…"